Honour for Ken as he nears his century is a good move

Chess fan and coach Ken Dickson has been honoured for his many years of teaching young players the art of the brain testing game.

Ken, who lives in Little Gaddesden, celebrates his 100th birthday next month, proudly accepted the prestigious English Chess Federation President’s Award at the Hertfordshire Mega Final.

He was nominated for the award by the Herts Schools Chess Association in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the development of junior chess.

Association chairman Yogesh Jina said: “The Mega Final is one of the major junior events of the chess year, so it seemed a good time, with Ken’s 100th birthday only a few weeks away, to show our appreciation to someone who has given so much time and effort to help Hertfordshire children with their chess for so many years.

“Ken recently travelled with the Hertfordshire Under 11 team to the national finals in Nottingham and spent much of the day on his feet supervising games in the main playing hall”

The group has further honoured Ken by introducing a new award – The Ken Dickson Trophy – to be presented annually to the county’s under nine champion.